1. So is it not with me as
with that Muse,
2. Stirred by a painted beauty to his verse,
3. Who heaven itself for ornament doth use
4. And every fair with his fair doth rehearse,
5. Making a couplement of proud compare
6. With sun and moon, with earth and sea's rich gems,
7. With April's first-born flowers, and all things rare,
8. That heaven's air in this huge rondure hems.
9. O! let me, true in love, but truly write,
10. And then believe me, my love is as fair
11. As any mother's child, though not so bright
12. As those gold candles fixed in heaven's air:
13. Let them say more that like of hearsay well;
14. I will not praise that purpose not to sell.

The poet
now begins an analysis of what he
might or might not say of his beloved. He does not wish to follow the
example
of those poets who force comparisons with everything that is fair,
beautiful,
strange or rare. Instead he wishes to extol the virtue of truthfulness.
Since his love is indeed beautiful, what need is there of over praise?
Why
not say at the outset that, quite simply, you, my love, are yourself,
you
outshine all praise. He who attempts to say more is like a costermonger
trying to sell his wares from a barrow. But this poet will remain aloof
from such gross pandering. The fact that his love is fair is enough for
him, and he will not enlarge his praise by false and ludicrous
comparisons.

The criticism of 'that
Muse' is fairly general,
but it is quite possible that it applies to an individual rather than
to
a style of writing. Later in the sequence sonnets 76-86 deal with the
threat
from a rival poet or poets and this sonnet here is a perhaps a
foretaste
of what is to follow later.

THE 1609
QUARTO VERSION

21

S

O is it not with
me as with
that Muſe,
Stird by a painted beauty to his verſe,

Who
heauen it ſelfe for ornament
doth vſe,
And euery faire with his faire doth reherſe,
Making a coopelment of proud compare
With Sunne and Moone,with earth and ſeas rich gems:
With Aprills first borne flowers and all things rare,
That heauens ayre in this huge rondure hems,
O let me true in loue but truly write,
And then beleeue me,my loue is as faire,
As any mothers childe,though not ſo bright
As thoſe gould candells fixt in heauens ayre:
Let them ſay more that like of heare-ſay well,
I will not prayſe that purpoſe not to ſell.

It is more
natural to suppose that the sonnets
were written as a response to or as a contribution to the easy
discussions
of a group of young men, some of whom might have enjoyed a privileged
position
in relation to the cynosure of the group, the young nobleman who has
been
encouraged in the previous sonnets to repair his house (i.e. to marry
and
have children). The poetic criticism levelled here might apply to many
poets,
Petrarch, Sydney, Daniel, even Shakespeare himself (although we should
not
assume that it will be a poet well known to our anthologies). It is a
clever
way of turning the tables on conventional poetry, at the same time
showing
that one's own poems are just as inventive. It also has the more
serious
motive of investigating the nature of love - 'What is it that makes my
loved
one so special, so exalted in my eyes above the conventional norms of
beauty.
What is it that makes him so supremely himself?'

1. So is it not with me as
with that Muse,

1.
I do not follow the typical inspiration of
the type of poetry which.... Muse = one of the
nine goddesses of
poetry. The name can stand symbolically for the poet him(her)self, or
for
a poem, or for a style of writing.

2.
Stirred by a painted beauty to his verse,

2. Stirred
by a painted beauty = (who
is) inspired by a woman who uses cosmetics; inspired by a painting of a
beautiful woman? The accusation that those who inspired love sonnets
were
sirens disguised as beauties is unjust, since most poets of the
Renaissance
and earlier did not think that their womenfolk were only superficially
fair,
or that they covered their ugliness with cosmetics. It is more likely
that
the painted beauty is a reference to the
extravagant and artificial
conceits which the accused poets are in the habit of using in their
verse
(as described in the next few lines). Hence one could paraphrase it as
'Who
is stirred to use artificial comparisons in his verse'.

3.
Who heaven itself for ornament doth use

3. Who
= the poet (Muse); for ornament doth use = makes use of to
enhance his descriptions
of his loved one. There is a suggestion here of blasphemy, as if the
beloved
is being exalted to the level of God by the irreverent accused writer.

4.
And every fair with his fair doth rehearse,

4. every
fair = every beautiful object;
doth rehearse = puts on the stage, tiresomely
repeats in conjunction
with his own beloved.

5.
Making a couplement of proud compare

5. Joining
the two together in a stately description.
(The two things are his fair loved one and the
various items which
follow in the next two lines). compare = comparison.

6.
With sun and moon, with earth and sea's rich gems,

6. In fact
Shakespeare uses similar imagery
in the sonnets. In 7 the beloved is the sun; in 35 he is compared to
roses,
a silver fountain, the moon and sun; in 52 to jewels; in 1 he is the world's
fresh ornament/ And only herald to the gaudy spring; frequently
he is
a rose, also a lily; more extravagantly, in 53 and 68 he is the object
from
which all other things derive their beauty.

7.
With April's first-born flowers, and all things rare,

7. first
born flowers - the first flowers
of the spring are more beautiful because of their rarity, and they are
always
especially welcome because they herald the spring. First born children
were
also traditionally thought to be the most precious. rare = precious, rarely found.

8.
That heaven's air in this huge rondure hems.

8. rondure
= roundness, sphericity. A
neologism probably coined by Shakespeare. The repeated 'h' sounds make
the
line difficult to speak, as though mimicking the hugeness of the task
of
enclosing all the earth's wonderful richness in the hemisphere of the
surrounding
air, or the sphere of the universe.

9.
O! let me, true in love, but truly write,

9. A
declaration of truth in love, which must
be matched by an equal fidelity in writing.

10.
And then believe me, my love is as fair

10. Lines
10-12 are the pay off as it were to
the criticisms of 'that Muse'. This poet will not
degrade his beloved
with false comparisons. Instead he will speak truthfully, and doing so,
he declares that his love is as fair as etc. etc.

11.
As any mother's child, though not so bright

11. any
mother's child is proverbial
for anyone.

12.
As those gold candles fixed in heaven's air:

12. those
gold candles fix'd in heaven's air =
the stars. He uses an exaggerated description as a mockery of the style
of 'that Muse'.

13.
Let them say more that like of hearsay well;

13. Let
those who love gossip and unsubstantiated
(usually false) reports say more if they wish.

14.
I will not praise that purpose not to sell.

14. I am
not a dishonest salesman, and am not
going to indulge in praising that which I have no wish to part with. that
refers toI at the start of the
line. Hence, 'I, who have no
intention of selling you, will not indulge in vacuous praise.' A
salesman,
then as now, was considered to be mendacious.